Bangladesh holds key local polls

Bangladeshis are voting in local elections, the first polls since the caretaker government declared a state of emergency a year-and-a-half ago.

People are voting in four city corporations and nine municipalities. Emergency measures have been be relaxed in areas where voting is taking place.

General elections due last year were postponed after political violence and are now to be held in December.

Bangladesh's main parties say national polls should have been held first.

But the country's election commissioner says he hopes the local polls will be a model for the general elections.

Criminal charges

In the run-up to these local elections, some of the government's emergency rules were lifted to allow, for example, candidates to campaign in public.

But because the election commission says it is worried about violence on election day, the laws were re-imposed on Saturday night.

Armed police are reported to be patrolling the four cities - Sylhet, Khulna, Borisal and Rajshahi - where the votes are behind held.